Eight young violinists representing 6 countries, out of the 17 competitors who participated in the Second Round of the Violin Section in the 2020 George Enescu International Competition, received the most votes from the Jury and will take part in the Semifinal: Gennaro Cardaropoli (Italy), Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev (Turkey/Azerbaijan), Jeewon Kim (South Korea), Tassilo Probst (Germany), Tomotaka Seki (Japan), Valentin Serban (Romania), Ayaka Uchio (Japan), and Jaewon Wee (South Korea).
The Violin Semifinal will take place on May 17, 2021, at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. The Final will be on Saturday, May 19, 2021, at 6:00 PM (GMT+3), with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of maestro Wilson Hermanto.
The Second Round of the 2020 George Enescu International Competition’s Violin Section was held online between September 11 and 13. The results were announced by the President of the Jury in a video posted on the Competition’s website on Monday, September 14. “In the last few days my colleagues, the distinguished members of the Jury, and I listened to 17 talented violinists from 11 countries who pre-recorded their Second Round repertoire –a varied program of sonatas, virtuoso pieces and also the opening movement of the “Impressions of Childhood” by George Enescu. I would like to commend all of the participants for their great efforts in these unusual circumstances. Their commitment and excitement for music were very evident. Bravo to all of you! I would also like to thank my fellow jury members for their efforts to stay objective and generous in their votes,” said Dmitry Sitkovetsky, President of the Violin Jury.
The international jury of the 2020 Enescu Violin Competition is led by Dmitry Sitkovetsky and comprised of Remus Azoiței, Koichiro Harada, Silvia Marcovici, Mihaela Martin, Igor Petrushevski, Eduard Schmieder, and Krzysztof Wegrzyn.
It is for the first time in the history of the Enescu Competition when the first two rounds of the instruments sections are held online, as the only way to safely organize the Competition amid the escalation of pandemic worldwide. To create a bond between musicians and spectators, the platform provides three buttons through which viewers can virtually applaud, choosing the intensity and form of their praise. Spectators can also send messages to young musicians to encourage them. Access to the 2020 Enescu Competition online content during this period is free. The full program is at this link: https://www.festivalenescu.ro/en/program.
The message of this year’s edition is Beauty in Life, and the 2020 George Enescu International Competition challenges us to prove that we all have the power to reinvent ourselves while embracing equally beauty and life.
George Enescu Competition is an international platform for launching the future world-class musicians and for promoting the compositions of the great Romanian composer to the new generation of artists. It is thus a natural extension of the George Enescu Festival, the most important cultural event organized in Romania. The Competition has four sections – violin, cello, piano, and composition – and it ranks in the top five classical music competitions worldwide.
